Corsages and Boutonnieres: Who Gets What and Who Pays?

Wedding flowers can be one of the most difficult parts of the planning process. And knowing who wears boutonnieres and corsages at a wedding is a tough question. But we're here to help to make sure your wedding party looks amazing. This quick guide can help.

Who gets What on your Wedding Day?

Wedding etiquette actually doesn't actually dictate that any particular person has to have a corsage or a boutonniere pin. Common practice, though, holds that parents and grandparents all wear one. Additionally, the groom, groomsman, ushers, bride, and bridesmaids all wear one too. It is possible you may want to include the ring bearer as well. In most cases, the bride and the groom's should be slightly different to those for everyone else. If there are others who are particularly important to you, like family members, readers, or performers at your wedding, feel free to include them as well. Keep in mind, however, that once you start including family, it's easy to end up with hurt feelings because you chose not to include someone or you overlooked someone else.

Our advice? Just stick with the wedding party, or even just the bridal party and call it a day. If you want symmetry in the picture, get it for the entire wedding party. (just make sure you don't get the wrist ones, because they are hard to see in the wedding pictures. You'll be giving the photographer a headache!

Who's Paying and What Will it Cost?

Most wedding etiquette experts suggest that it is the responsibility of the groom to pay for the corsages and boutonnieres, even if someone else is picking up the bill for the florist. They bride's family is supposed to pick up the costs for all of the other flowers involved in the wedding provided by the florist. These days, however, who pays for what is up for grabs in many cases. If the two of you are handling all of your wedding costs anyway, you may want to go ahead and include the items to the florist on that list. If the bride's family is paying for everything, she may end up picking up the costs for those flowers as well. You can expect to pay based on the flowers you've chosen. For example, if you were going with a single flower, such as roses, for each boutonniere, you can probably expect to pay about $10 for each one. If you go with a cheaper single flower, like a carnation, you can likely save a bit of money. The more elaborate the design, the more costly the flowers.

Looking to save a bit of cash on the arrangements?

There are several alternatives you may want to think about. We already mentioned a small, single flower above, instead of a combination of flowers. You can get a small bouquet instead. You could also do simple floral wedding hair accessories for your bridesmaids and special women on the list. There's absolutely no need to get the entire bridal party corsages and boutonnieres Just make sure you notify everyone in advance. Corsage pins, for women, are also completely acceptable in place of a corsage. If you're really good with decorations, feel free to make these yourself. You can find patterns online, and it's actually easier than you think. If, however, you're unsure of your ability to tackle this task on your own or with your bridal party, go ahead and go with the professionals. Your local florist can help you tackle the task with style.

P.S. Another great place to get them? Sam's Club or Costco

Looking for an even cheaper solution?

How about hosting a garden wedding where the flowers are already there on scene, and you don't need to do anything with them but utilize their beauty! That will save on ceremony flowers, aisle flowers, or any decorations needed for the ceremony. Plus, your photos will be stunning! And the wedding party, especially the bridal party, will be happy it's one lest thing they have to worry about. (especially getting stuck by a corsage pin!)

A few more ideas

There are many types of corsages and boutonniere to get, you'll have to think about how to put it on. For example, will it go through the lapel buttonhole or will it go through the jacket lapel. Generally speaking, buttonholes and corsages don't go well together. Since the 2000s, most folks have simply applied a pin, and did not place flowers through buttonholes. But it's a great way to do it in a pinch. The ring bearer might have a harder time, so put it on him or her with any pin, even if it's not a corsage pin. If you have to put it on their wrist, ok, but that's not the first place we would try.

Are you curious about other special formal occasions?

Prom, mother's day and grandmothers' birthdays are all special occasions that many people buy corsages for. We don't cover them here, but our advice on how to put them all

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Michelle has been with Wedding Favors Unlimited for nearly 20 years. Starting out in Customer Service, she's interacted with thousands of Brides helping them navigate every Detail imaginable around a wedding. She became a full-time writer for us because he realized he kept getting the same questions over and over and wanted to share them with everyone. Feel free to ask Michelle a question below!

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Sam's Club and Costco do boutonnieres and corsages? I never knew. Have you tried them out? I worry the quality may not be as luxurious

Reply

Michelle

We have tried them out. The best part is that if they don't look great...you can get a full refund. That's our secret. The quality is JUST as good if not better than a regular florist. For wedding corsages, you can't go wrong.

Reply

Jen

It's so hard not to feel like I have to include every tradition into the wedding. Are there people now who are choosing not to do this or is it still a pretty common practice? I just don't want it to look like too much or distracting. We've learned that about 25% choose to do wedding corsages. So not super common, but happens more often outside of cities than not.

Reply

Michelle

We've learned that about 25% of brides outside of cities choose wedding corsages. I hope that's a useful statistic for you on wedding corsages.

Reply

Megan

Should I plan to get the boutonnieres and corsages from the same florist as the rest of the flowers even if someone else is paying? I want them to all have a similar look

Reply

Michelle

It shouldn't matter. As long as the theme is the same, you should be all set for corsages and boutonnieres.

Reply

Heidi

Thanks for laying all this out so clearly. Trying to figure out all the customs around the flowers and corsages and who was supposed to pay and everything was making my head spin!

Reply

Michelle

I know! Picking out corsages and boutonnieres can be confusing! Happy to help.